Best Caribbean island / area to live ON LAND?

[anibaldamiao]

Hi all

I'm considering to spend a few years with my young family in the Caribbean (41F, 42M, kids are 3 and 6). We're getting a place on land, maybe our own property / small farm.

As a sailor myself, I'd love to know other sailors view on this. Where to settle? Why?


Now, before you say "on a boat", that's the plan but the mommy side of the family isn't fully convinced of it yet (kids school, hospital/care, sailing experience living aboard..) so we'll start with being next to the boat at first.

[capn_billl]

I've only been to Bahamas, Puerto Rico, USVI, and Dominican Republic.

SO far, I would only live in Dominican Republic. Low crime. Not so corrupt government. Taxes are higher than most Caribbean countries, but lower than USA.

People are nice, and accepting of outsiders, even if you are there to stay long term, or just a tourist.

I've never felt threatened, or in danger there, even wandering afar from the tourist areas.

Property is affordable, and the infrastructure is very modern compared to most 3rd world.

They have a growing middle class, and a (couple) modern freeways.

I've also heard good things about St Lucia, and Dominica. Two places I'd like to check out after Covid is over.

I originally was looking into Puerto Rico because it's part of the USA, and I found several great deals on property there.

I found my realtor there was hiding property, (Claiming it was already sold, when it plainly wasn't) because a friend/family member wanted to buy it.

I was treated like a criminal if I went to look at a property with the wrong realtor.

Blockbusting, and nepotism are common, and socially accepted, and corruption bribes, and payoffs is just how things are done.

Eventually about the time the governor stole several billions leaving lights, and water inoperative, I gave up.

Can't recommend.

Beautiful island though, and I'm sure if you buy into a condo, or resort, not that bad.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by anibaldamiao

Hi all

I'm considering to spend a few years with my young family in the Caribbean (41F, 42M, kids are 3 and 6). We're getting a place on land, maybe our own property / small farm.

As a sailor myself, I'd love to know other sailors view on this. Where to settle? Why?


Now, before you say "on a boat", that's the plan but the mommy side of the family isn't fully convinced of it yet (kids school, hospital/care, sailing experience living aboard..) so we'll start with being next to the boat at first.

What nationality are you?
If US, probably Puerto Rico.
USVI but it's not cheap.

Many places are rife with crime, but it's a matter of how you are with that stuff. If you travel to the third world a lot then you may do fine. The most obvious crime I ran into is the DR. Never went to Haiti though!

Not Carribean but Mexico can be nice. Many love Costa Rica.

[carlosproa]

It depends on whether you need to find a job locally or be self sustained for those years, your older kid is at a cross road into Kinder and first grade, mom is not sold on living on a boat, then she may be a landlubber, I am assuming she does not mind being away from civilization, I am assuming you are a US citizen and so less drama with visa.
The DR is high on the list and close to the US, PR has plenty of farm areas outside San Juan and even easier to move into. Jamaica could be an option also but security could be an issue. If money is not a limiting factor St Vincent is close to ideal. Grenada used to be cheap but I have not kept up. It sits close to the “seldom hurricane” area. Is not Trinidad but close enough to avoid most hurricanes.

[MicHughV]

Hands down.....for just cruising and be-bopping around..the B'mas has it all.

Wanna find work, school for the kids, etc, look no further than Puerto Rica, friendly, wonderful folk, fantastic food, etc. PR is a territory of the US and as such, a US citizen can live and work there. No passport required to fly back to the US. It's an incredibly diverse and beautiful island to boot. All PR's speak english as well as Spanish...I know PR pretty well, there are many, many places, you can stop for a while. The $ is their currency.

All these places are upwind from Florida. Getting there can be challenging if you're in a rush.

[hpeer]

Man thats a tough question because it is so personal.

From my personal point of view I was access to fresh water. That leaves out a lot of places. I poke around looking at real estate here and there. Right now not much available. A couple of years ago there were several townhomes advertised in Jolly Harbor, Antigua but now none.

Farm land means cheap land. That means you will have to “go native”. That is gonna be a rough sell to the Missus.

Personally I like Dominica, but can’t imagine others would share my view. You can buy small farm plots. But the whole island is only 60-80 thousand people. Every one is related to everyone. There are folks who have integrated into society, bit I can not imagine it is easy. Especially for the kids.

Yiu need to talk a lot more about what you (and she) NEED. Then it may be possible or not.

[Tortuga's Lie]

A lot of ex-pats from the states move to Panama, stable government, decent infrastructure, good cruising grounds, low crime.

[hpeer]

Yup, I didn’t think of Panama. Belize may also work, but a very different experience.

https://panamarelocationtours.com/living-in-panama

[tbodine88]

I lived in Antigua for two years, twenty years ago. It was fine for me, but the wife didnt enjoy it. The schools arent great unless you go private.
The people are friendly once you get to know them.
Their is a large cruising community

[Mithril Bham]

My favorite is Guadalupe. Lots of water. Personally I prefer French culture and food.

[earthmover]

Grenada

[Stewie12]

Roatan would be my choice. English is widely spoken. Residency easy. No mass tourism. Direct flights to the US.

[Siberian Sea]

For the past 5 years I’ve lived on Martinique, however I married a French citizen so this opened the door for my immigration status. I think you need to do more research on long term visas, if you have school age children they had best know French before you can enroll them in public schools here, I have a carte vitale for thé French healthcare system but for you and your family you need to think about this. Then what about work or employment? Maybe you have some way around this but otherwise your going to need a work visa. Bringing you US documented vessel to a foreign nation often comes with time limits unless you want to pay big importation taxes and fees. Most of the readers here might have visited these islands and some may have stayed for a season or two but....... on many of these islands the friendly smiles go away once they understand your moving there and not just a temporary visitor leaving your money. It’s not cheap here and that includes the price to buy a home or land. We have saved cash and have been actively looking to buy a small home, appartement or land for construction for over a year on Martinique. Our budget is around 400,000 euros or 500,000 US dollars and we struggle to find much. Sometimes paradise come with a few things that are unpleasant.

[DMCantor]

We have cruised extensively in the Caribbean for more than 10 years, have spent considerable time on all of the islands.


I would reconsider Puerto Rico. If you get away from the San Juan area, people are remarkably friendly and helpful. You will find schools and healthcare a couple of steps above what you'll find on most Caribbean islands. Shipping in goods is no hassle, no tariffs.


Martinique and Guadeloupe will have the best infrastructure/schools/hospitals -- but getting a residence visa may be difficult, and a work permit even harder.


We love Dominica and have thought about buying a house there. It is absolutely beautiful, and easy to make friends. Before the pandemic hit they were recovering nicely from Hurricane Maria. Since the medical school left, access to first-world goods has gone way down. I would be concerned about schools there. All of the ex-British colonies have a school model that stresses rote learning.

[belizesailor]

OP:

Without more specific criteria people are just going to tell where they like.

What is your definition of "best"?

And maybe more importantly, what is your wifes?